So, I was in India for Thanksgiving. My brother and I heard there might be a Subway sandwich shop somewhere in Delhi and we figured their 6" turkey sub would be our best bet at getting turkey for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, our cab driver was not able to find a Subway so we decided to go for McDonalds instead. After two weeks of curry, nothing sounded better than a Big Mac. Imagine our surprise to discover that McDonald's most famous sandwich is not served in India, in fact, there is NO BEEF to be found at India's McDonalds. McVeggie Burger anyone?
Notice the top photo that says "No Photography allowed." Employees kept trying to prevent me from taking these pictures. Apparently India McDonald's is trying to keep news of the McVeggie burger from getting out to the rest of the world.
Seven years ago, missionary evangelist Marcus Bloom held his first Gospel Festival in Jharkhand in the village of Manoharpur. At that time, many people in the village gave their lives to Jesus. A church was started in the home of one of the new believers. Over time, more people from the village became Christian and the church outgrew the home. They began to meet under a tree. During the rainy season, they would meet in a mud hut but the roof of the hut was filled with holes and people still got wet.
When I heard that the village has over two hundred believers and no church building, I decided to help them build a church. We purchased a piece of land, bricks, and material for the roof. The local believers helped build the church with their own hands.
In the village, we held a mini-crusade and then dedicated the church. Several dozen villagers gave their lives to Jesus. We commissioned Pastor Haren Kandulna to pastor the church. The local believers are so excited to have a beautiful church building with a roof over their heads. One local believer said, “Now that we have a church building, I think the entire village will become Christian.”
Pastor Sunny told me, “For over five years, I have been praying for a church building in this village.” Then he choked up and started to cry because he was so happy his prayers had been answered.
Five hundred pastors representing 22 out of 24 districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand came to our pastor’s conference. Also represented were pastors from the Indian states of Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Sikkim, Chhatisgar, West Bengal, and from the nation of Nepal and the border of Bhutan. The pastors came from a broad spectrum of denominations including Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal, Assembly of God, and the Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Some pastors traveled for several days from remote villages to attend. They arrived by auto-rickshaw, bus, walking, and by motorcycle. Before they gave their lives to Jesus, many of the pastors were from Hindu, Muslim, and Tribal religion backgrounds.
Because of the poverty in India, we helped pay for the pastor’s transportation and we provided lodging and food during the five day conference. Pastor A.J. Barjo from Ranchi said, “The conference was historical for our city. It was very well organized. Every pastor enjoyed this conference and appreciated the spiritual food and the physical food that we were fed. All the pastors are now motivated to go reach the lost.”
A member of the State Parliament and a Cabinet Minister welcomed the pastors to Ranchi. A Hindu newspaper reported on the conference with a favorable review.
On the first night of the conference, our team felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to give an altar call. Even though only pastors were supposed to be in attendance, we obeyed and a Hindu man who was visiting responded by giving his life to Jesus.
The focus of the conference was on soul winning. We challenged the pastors to go to the unreached villages of Jharkhand to plant churches.
The pastors were extremely attentive and took notes on each message. Daniel’s mother Susan challenged the pastors to pray diligently. Daniel’s brother David spoke about “God’s Purpose for Your Life.” Daniel spoke on “3 Reasons to be a Soul Winner”, “How to Lead People to Jesus,” and “The Fire of God.” Our co-evangelist Marcus Bloom spoke on “7 Gospel Truths” and “7 Secrets of a Successful Ministry.” He gave a copy of his new book “The Final Lap” to every pastor.
On the final day, we laid hands on each pastor and sent them out to fulfill the Great Commission. Many pastors were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues for the first time. They returned home happy and motivated to do big things for God!
Thousands of people attended each night of our Gospel Festival in Ranchi, India.
Excitement was high in the city when we arrived. Colorful posters promising salvation and miracles covered the walls of the city. Massive billboards and banners combined with radio and television ads created excitement about the event.
A clear salvation message was preached each evening. One night, Daniel preached on “The Paralyzed Man”, another night he preached on “The Four Greatest Miracles in the Bible.” Daniel’s co-evangelist from Sweden, Marcus Bloom, preached on “The Cross of Jesus,” “The Adulterous Woman,” and “The Rich Man and Lazarus.”
When the altar call was given, thousands of people streamed forward to the front to receive Jesus. As they entered the altar call area, a counselor greeted each person by handing him or her a copy of the Gospel of John and a decision card. Around 10,000 decision cards were filled out by the end of the five-day festival.The Gospel Festival also aired each day on three major television stations in Ranchi and Delhi that reach most of northern India. Our half-hour program was aired three times each day to hundreds of thousands of viewers. In response to the television program, over 700 people called asking for prayer.
